C# in Depth

acknowledgmentsI had a wonderful time writing this book, which is largely due to the skill and dedicationof the people who worked with me on it and the patience of the people who putup with me. Those who fall into both camps are virtuous beyond words.My family has borne the brunt of the time I spent writing when I should have beenplaying, sleeping, or just being more sociable. My wife Holly has been more supportivethan I have any right to expect, and I’m both proud and slightly disturbed that theeyes of my sons Tom, William, and Robin light up as soon as a laptop is opened.As well as the formal peer reviewers listed in a moment, I would like to mentionEmma Middlebrook and Douglas Leeder, both of whom read significant portions ofthe original manuscript before it even reached my editor. Emma has the remarkablebad luck of having had to cope not only with reviewing my writing but also with workingwith me on a daily basis. Douglas freed himself from that drudgery a while ago,but was still kind enough to suggest improvements to the book without even knowingC#. You’re both dear friends, and I thank you for that even more than for your effortson the book.The folks at Manning have been supportive right from the start—particularlyJackie Carter’s original work with me, as well as Mike Stephens’ help at a high levelthroughout the process and Jeff Bleiel’s constant support and diligent editing. LizWelch performed the near-impossible trick of making the copyediting process fun forboth of us, and Karen Tegtmeyer kept me relatively sane during nail-biting peerreviews. These are only the people I got to know reasonably well during the last year;many other people were involved in the project, doing marvelous things: there’s theproduction team of Gordan Salinovic, Dottie Marsico, Tiffany Taylor, Katie Tennant,and Mary Piergies; cover designer Leslie Haimes; webmaster Gabriel Dobrescu, marketingdirector Ron Tomich, and last but not least, publisher Marjan Bace.xxiLicensed to Rhona Hadida